What is it?
This 2,100-year-old piece of bronze sheet cut into the shape of a life-size right hand has been dubbed the ‘Hand of Irulegi’, after the site in Spain where it was found. The hand is 143mm tall, 128mm wide, and 1.09mm thick, and weighs about 36g. A perforation in the centre of the end near the wrist indicates that this object was once nailed to a soft support such as a door frame. On the back of the hand is an inscription in a palaeo-Hispanic script that appears to be a predecessor of the modern Basque language that is still spoken in the region today. The inscription cannot be fully translated, but it is thought to be connected to the object’s function as a protective amulet.
